H.S. FOOTBALL: Norwell readies for Middleboro title fight

A little less than 12 months ago, the Norwell High football team hosted East Bridgewater in a de facto South Shore League Sullivan championship game.

The Clippers lost to the Vikings, 21-7, which cost Norwell not only the league title, but also the No. 1 seed and home field advantage throughout the Division 3A South Sectionals. The Clippers had to travel to EB for the sectional final and lost in overtime 22-20.

On Friday, Norwell will host Middleboro (5-0, 2-0) in a game with extremely similar implications. The winner will clinch at least a share of the league title with the opportunity to claim it outright with a win next week. Currently, Norwell (No. 1) and Middleboro (No. 2) are the top two seeds in Division 6 South.

“That game is going to have a lot of implications in the division and I know that Middleboro is as good as any team in the state,” said Norwell coach Jim Connor. “I think that they can compete with anyone so we’ve got to fix a lot of problems if we’re going to try to hang in there with them.”

Last year, Norwell won at Middleboro, 20-6. The Sachems defeated Plymouth South, 34-7, on Friday. Evan Gwozdz threw touchdown passes in the win while Jeremy Soule had six carries for 165 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown.

On Sept. 30, Middleboro edged EB, 28-21, in a close game. The Sachems rallied back from a 14-0 deficit in that one. The Vikings tied the game with 2:02 remaining, but Middleboro sophomore Isaiah Cobbs returned a squib kick 63 yards for the winning score. Soule had 18 totes for 201 yards in the win.

“We have to go into this game trying to eliminate some of the distractions,” said Connor. “It’s our Homecoming and we’ve got to make sure we keep that at bay and understand the situation, it’s a football game for us.”

On Friday, Norwell held off a late comeback bid from Rockland (3-2, 1-1) to pull out a 14-6 win.

The game looked to be nearly a clone of last year's Division 3A South Sectional quarterfinal when Norwell won 14-13. Rockland scored in the final minute to pull within one, but a 2-point conversion for the win was stopped short with 13 seconds remaining.

With 54 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs marched into Norwell territory but a fourth-down pass was completed and stopped well short of the marker to seal the win. A trio of Norwell defenders combined for a sack on second down to put the Bulldogs in third and fourth-and-long situations.

"Good teams win the ugly ones," said Connor. "I wouldn't say it was sloppy, but it was ugly as in it wasn't like previous weeks we've had. This is our first game that went down to the last play this season."

Trailing 14-0, the Bulldogs marched 14 plays and 50 yards but came away with zero points. Rockland quarterback Sam Gray completed a fourth-down pass to Jon Baar for nine yards to keep the drive alive, but the Bulldogs turned it over on downs seven plays later at the Norwell 11 with an incomplete pass.

The Bulldogs recovered to force a three-and-out and found the end zone on an 8-play, 44-yard drive. Connor Shea finished the drive with a 17-yard run. The extra point missed and Rockland trailed 14-6 with 8:23 to play.

Rockland ended the Clippers’ next drive when Baar intercepted a pass at Rockland's 45 on a third-and-21 pass.

The Clippers opened the second half with a 7-play, 65-yard scoring drive. Norwell quarterback Cal Smith picked up 33 yards on a third-down play. On the next play, Ben Bostrom plunged into the end zone on a 4-yard run. Bryce Griffin's 2-point conversion run gave Norwell a 14-0 lead with 7:28 left in the third quarter.

The Clippers opening drive went 71 yards on nine plays, including a first-down run on fourth by Griffin. Bostrom had three carries for 42 yards on the possession and Smith got in the end zone with a 12-yard run on a bootleg. Rockland stuffed the 2-point conversion run and Norwell held a 6-0 lead with 2:37 left in the first quarter.

“He threw the ball when he needed to, completed it when he had too,” said Connor of Smith. “(Smith is) our fourth running back and he’s every bit as scary as Ben (Bostrom), Bryce (Griffin), Jack (Harper) and John (Stout). It’s just one more thing teams have to defend and we’ve got to keep him active in the run game.”

The Bulldogs had a promising 12-play drive stall just outside of the red zone. Gray picked up a fourth down with a 2-yard run to move the ball to the Norwell 24, but a 3-yard loss on a run and a Colin Orleman sack stopped the threat. Gray's pass on fourth-and-22 fell harmlessly incomplete with three seconds left in the half.